The Nigeria High Commission in the United Kingdom has announced plans to refund £50 to applicants who were charged a £70 administrative fee for the ongoing passport intervention exercise.
The refund will reduce the amount paid by affected applicants to the standard £20 administrative charge.
The commission announced the decision in a notice published on its website on Friday.
The development followed the commission’s decision to reduce the administrative fee for the passport intervention from £70 to £20 after protests and scrutiny over the charge.
The administrative fee had initially been fixed at £20 by the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari during a similar passport intervention exercise.
However, the High Commission had charged applicants £70 without approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while those seeking replacement of lost passports were charged £150.
Officials involved in the exercise had told TheCable that the commission demanded an additional payment to facilitate the process in order to “generate revenue”.
Although the commission subsequently reduced the intervention fee to £20, the charge remains separate from the £20 administrative fee stipulated under the Buhari administration. The commission also maintained a different administrative fee of £150 for lost passports.
The controversy over the charges came amid protests by Nigerians in the UK over the passport intervention exercise.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, had expressed concern over the inconvenience surrounding the exercise and denied that applicants were required to pay separate administrative fees.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Nigeria Immigration Service Public Relations Officer, Akinsola Akinlabi, said the applicable passport fees remained $162 for a five-year validity booklet and $242 for a 10-year validity booklet.
Akinlabi said that despite challenges experienced on the first day of the exercise, the intervention was progressing smoothly at the London and Manchester centres.
The NIS spokesperson urged eligible applicants to book appointments for the special intervention exercise through the Nigeria High Commission’s website.
He, however, reiterated that “no additional charges are required to participate in the intervention exercise”.
Akinlabi disclosed that 1,477 Nigerians had been successfully processed and enrolled within the first four days of the exercise.
“Over half of those enrolled have already had their passports produced and dispatched to their respective addresses,” he added.
Following the high turnout and growing interest in the exercise, Akinlabi said Tunji-Ojo approved an extension of the intervention in London and Manchester.
According to him, the exercise, initially scheduled to end on September 19, will now run until October 3.
Akinlabi said further details on the extended dates, participating locations and appointment procedures would be communicated through the official channels of the NIS and the Nigeria High Commission.